Summer weekend, Oregon Coast - no reservations! It all ends well though

It all started with meeting some Canadian friends at Seaside, OR . . 

I booked a couple of nights at Ft. Stevens State Park expecting that I could snag another night from a cancellation or a no-show.  The park hosts were encouraging.  I had a great site in "o" loop - just a short walk from Coffenbury Lake.

Time was too short to put my kayak in, but Molly and I enjoyed walking around the water.  The lake was peaceful compared to the campground!  O loop is very open and conducive to large groups - there were two separate groups of over 30 people.  At meal times, there was much to-ing and fro-ing with covered dishes.

I had a great visit with my friends but it was sadly cut short when I couldn't find another campsite.

Long travel day South - campground full . . . campground full . . . 

I spent a long day seeing nothing but full campgrounds, no rest areas, and only a single Walmart - eeek, was I going to get shut-out?  I was counting on finding a site at Winchester Bay - but at Reedsport I started to see signs for Dunefest, which turns out is a big deal around there!  

Sure enough, the marina was bumper-to-bumper!  I was resigned to taking the last spot - crammed between two big motorhomes (no power, no grass, just a parking spot) when the camp host, bless him, suggested an alternative!  The marina has an overflow area!  

With water on three sides, this grassy area comes complete with fire rings, picnic tables and almost no neighbors.   I SCORED!!

The beach tent cuts down on the wind

The solar panel worked great.

The view from my campsite.

Dunefest is a celebration of all things fossil fuel!  Huge motorhomes, all manner of dune buggies, ATV's, big jacked-up pickups, little scooters ferrying Jerry cans of gas out to the dunes . . . and miles of vendors.  Every 20 minutes or so a helicopter flies overhead giving tours of the proceedings from the sky.

I venture out on my bicycle, but soon return to the quiet of my camp site.

Camping Tip:  check expiration dates and quality of products in small markets.  You're probably OK with baked beans or other big movers, but I found exp. Dates as far back as 2010!!  And I still got back to my campsite with some fancy-pants tomato paste in a tube that I found was leaking.  Bummer.